Watch: Sea lions return to Dunedin. Credits: Newshub.
Dunedin is the only city in New Zealand where you can get a coffee and see a sea lion at the same time.
After a record-breaking breeding season, you don’t have to wait long before you spot one.
There were 20 sea lion pups born this breeding season, and it’s only taken 28 years to get here.
"We were missing breeding sea lions on the mainland for 200 to 300 years almost to extinction," NZ Sealion Trust chairperson Jordana Whyte says.
Until a pregnant sea lion called Mum swam ashore.
"For some reason, she decided to have her pups here, we don’t know why," White says. "We’re sure glad she did."
All pups born now link directly back to her.
"We are getting to the point of exponential growth which is a conservation success story, sea lions have decided to come back here themselves," Whyte says.
The population down in the subantarctic is threatened by things like fisheries and climate change.
"Having them come back and establish on the mainland means the eggs aren’t really all in one basket. We can be reasonably reassured they can remain into the future," Department of Conservation biodiversity ranger Jim Fyfe says.
Te Runanga has been involved in the collaborative effort to tag and microchip the pups for tracking.
"Gives us the connection with or tupuna who lived around here so culturally it’s really important," Te Rūnanga o Ōtākou manager Nadia Wesley-Smith says.
And with more sea lions the public needs to take more care. Earlier this year a bodyboarder learned a lesson when he encountered one at St Clair beach.
"Give them space and treat them with respect," Fyfe says.
The mammals are happy to share the beach, they aren’t aggressive or afraid.
"They’re beautiful curious creatures," Wesley-Smith says.
"It’s the only city in New Zealand where you can get a coffee and see a sea lion at the same time which is pretty cool," Whyte says.
The population is only expected to grow, experts predict by at least one more pup next season.